In the nursery industry, one major category of vegetation includes woody ornamental plants, such as fruit trees, dogwood trees, willow trees, etc. In a typical nursery distribution chain for woody ornamental plants, the initial link is a "propagator" or "grower of seeds." The propagator will plant the seeds in soil trays and cultivate the seedlings growing therefrom until they reach a sufficient maturity for storage/shipping.
Once the seedlings reach a sufficient maturity, they are removed from the trays. Sometimes, the soil which clings to the roots of the seedlings is left thereon during shipping/storage. Often, however, the soil is completely removed from the roots so that the propagator can conserve soil for future plantings. Thus, the seedlings' unsoiled roots are "bare" or "exposed" and, prior to shipment/storage, they must be wrapped, or packed, with a suitable packing product.
Once the exposed roots of the plants are packed, they may be immediately shipped to another location (i.e., a wholesale grower, a plant retailer, or a mail order consumer). This shipment usually entails compiling a plurality of the root-packed plants in a box, and then shipping the box to the desired location. At the desired location, the seedlings will be replanted, either by being inserted directly in the ground or by being potted, depending on the circumstances. With particular reference to plant retailers, they may place the packed unsoiled roots of a seedling in a bag for short term consumer transporting purposes.
Alternatively, the root-packed plants may be temporarily stored (two to four months) in a dormant environment in preparation for the next suitable planting season. During this temporary storage (sometimes called "cold storage") the root-packed plants are stacked on pallets and maintained at an approximately 40.degree. F. temperature. Also, some sort of sprinkling system will usually be provided to periodically "re-wet" the root-packed plants. At the termination of the storage period, the root-packed plants are shipped to another location in substantially the same manner as discussed in the preceding paragraph.
In the past, "Sphagnum Moss" and "Shingletow" have been the primary packing products used by propagators to ship/store plants with exposed roots. These products seem to have acceptable moisture capacities for plant-dormancy purposes. (Specifically, as explained in more detail below, Sphagnum Moss has a 533% moisture capacity and Shingletow has a 419% moisture capacity.) Additionally, these prior art packing products appear to have satisfactory re-wetting intervals (Sphagnum Moss has a three to four day re-wetting interval and Shingletow has a two to three day re-wetting interval). A further advantage of the Sphagnum Moss and Shingletow packing products is that they do not exhibit any mold-induced or other breakdowns under cold storage conditions.
Nevertheless, the use of Sphagnum Moss and/or Shingletow for root-packing purposes is not without drawbacks. For example, Sphagnum Moss is a harvested plant and thus its price/availability is subject to seasonal climate fluctuations. Additionally, as with any harvested commodity (and also because of the wide range of Sphagnum Moss species in existence), this product's quality tends to vary widely and consistency is difficult to obtain. Regarding Shingletow, it is a byproduct of a shingle manufacturing process whereby its cost, accessibility, and/or quality is at the mercy of the completely unrelated roofing industry.
Moreover, the moisture capacities of Sphagnum Moss and Shingletow, while suitable for plant dormancy purposes, are believed to be excessive for shipping and storage situations. As was indicated above, Sphagnum Moss has a 533% moisture capacity and Shingletow has a 419% moisture capacity. (In the context of the present application, the "moisture capacity" of a particular product corresponds to the percentage increase in the weight of the wetted product as compared to the weight of the dry product.) Thus, "wetted" Sphagnum Moss holds 5.33 times its dry weight and "wetted" Shingletow holds 4.19 times its dry weight. These excessive moisture capacities result in a substantial amount of unnecessary "water weight" in the wetted packing product which translates into increased shipping costs when the root-packed plants are transported and/or which translates into elevated water/labor bills when the root-packed plants are placed in cold storage.
Accordingly, applicant believes that a need remains for a packing product which more adequately meets the needs of woody ornamental propagators. Specifically, a need remains for a root-packing product which is not affected by seasonal climate fluctuations, which is not at the mercy of an unrelated industry, and which may be produced with consistent quality. Additionally or alternatively, applicant believes a need remains for a packing product having a moisture capacity which is sufficient to satisfy plant dormancy requirements but which is not so "excessive" that it results in a substantial amount of unnecessary "water weight" in the wetted packing product.